#332 Who Treats Suffering?

     "Eric Cassel has written movingly of the way in which medicine’s failure to pay appropriate attention to the non-physical aspects of treatment can lead to suffering. Suffering is what a person, rather than a bare biological organism, experiences. It is an existential concept, resulting from consideration of the patient’s life, which is an attribute of them as a person, not just of their body. It occurs when the impending destruction of the person is perceived. ‘Most generally, suffering can be defined as the state of severe distress associated with events that threaten the intactness of the person.’"          Wilson B. Metaphysics and medical education: taking holism seriously. J Eval Clin Pract 2013; 19(3): 478-84.

      If the above makes you cringe, you're not alone. The thought of one's own and one's loved ones' death is the most difficult thing to contemplate, for everyone, including doctors. What we fear, we tend to avoid. But one cannot avoid reality, after all we're all in it. And, pushing things out of our consciousness just drives them into our subconscious, where it festers and plays havoc with our lives, surfacing in varied unexpected but invariably unpleasant ways like symptoms that mimic physical disease, headaches, anxiety, sleep disturbance, angry outbursts etc etc.

     Avoidance doesn't work. The Mindful approach is intentionally embracing reality as it is. It's much easier and infinitely more effective than avoidance.

     Who treats suffering? We all self-manage our own. Mindfulness practices alone are powerful. Some people require additional help from mental health professionals, counselors etc.

Samish Island, WA

Annual MBSR-style MINDFULNESS COURSE for Health-Care & Other Professionals in Halifax NS

MINDFULNESS
for Health-Care & Other Professionals: 

An 8-week Immersion in Self-care

Dr. John Lovas
Thursday Evenings, 5:30 – 8:00 pm early October – November each year

Faculty of Dentistry, Dalhousie University

Halifax, NS, Canada

 

Course Synopsis
          Working in health care, other professions, and life in general, is very stressful at times. Yet to truly enjoy life, and best serve our patients, clients, coworkers, families and society, we ourselves need to be healthy. Effective, regular self-care is not only sensible, but also a professional responsibility. Mindfulness – a universal, but underdeveloped way of relating both realistically and kindly to ourselves and the world – is becoming a well-recognized foundation of self-care. 

          This continuing education course is designed for health-care & other professionals who spend an unhealthy portion of their life caring for everyone but themselves. The course provides a unique opportunity to learn about and experience a profoundly beneficial program of self-care practices. 

          Not simply a technique, mindfulness is a state of being “that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment.” (Kabat-Zinn) Mindfulness training “increases awareness of thoughts, emotions, and maladaptive ways of responding to stress, thereby helping participants learn to cope with stress in healthier, more effective ways.” (Bishop et al)

Course Objectives
          Participants will learn and practice sitting meditation, walking meditation, qi gong breathing, standing meditation, and partake (voluntary) in discussions about integrating mindfulness into our professional and private lives.
          Intended audience: Dental, medical, legal & other professionals. You and your entire office are invited to engage in a profoundly positive transformative learning experience. Attendance is limited to 20.
          Homework: Participants are encouraged to engage in up to 45 minutes of daily practice at home. We derive from this ‘practice’ precisely what we put into it.

John G.L. Lovas BSc, DDS, MSc, FRCD(C) 

          Dr. Lovas obtained science and dental degrees from the University of Toronto, and specialty training in oral pathology at the University of Western Ontario. He’s served as chief examiner in oral pathology for the Royal College of Dentists of Canada and as president of the Canadian Academy of Oral Pathology. Dr. Lovas was full-time faculty at the Faculty of Dentistry, Dalhousie University, teaching oral pathology & oral medicine for 31 years, and served as Assistant Dean for Student Affairs until his retirement in 2014. He obtained teacher-training in Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) at UMass Medical Center, the Omega Institute in New York, and the Rochester Medical School. For over ten years Dr. Lovas has been leading Mindfulness workshops for dental, dental hygiene, medical, law and other students, practitioners and staff.

Course Schedule
5:30 – 6:00 pm Registration & Light Dinner
6:00 – 8:00 pm Thursday evenings. Please note that we will postpone any sessions that the majority cannot attend (eg for inclement weather).
Participants are expected to attend at least 7 of the 8 sessions. Positive group dynamics depend on consistent attendance and participation. 

For registration, please contact:

CDE Office          Phone: (902) 494-1674        Email: dentcde@dal.ca

See also:       http://jglovas.wix.com/awarenessnow#!courses/cfvg

CREDITS  16 hours of lecture